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Various thoughts on a variety of topics.

Various Thoughts

Various thoughts on a variety of topics.

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  • Tag Archives Romance
  • THE WORLD’S FINEST Assassin: Gets Reincarnated in Another World as an Aristocrat #2-3

    Posted on January 14, 2022 2:56 pm by Offkorn Comment

    Decided to check out this series after the Anime adaptation turned out far better than I was expecting.

    The second book picks up immediately from where that ends and pivots into school life territory. Although the setting is more like college/university than high school it’s still not exactly a welcome change. Other issues would be how the romance elements come across as even more awkward than they do in the Anime and a bizarrely heavy focus on food/cooking.

    More serious though is just how different the dialog style is. I’m not sure if this is a problem with the source or with the translator/editor, but I’m strongly starting to suspect it’s the latter. With the notable exception of Kumodesuga all the translated Japanese LNs I’ve read have had the same sort of ‘voice’; the characters all use the same phrasings and talk in a slightly stilted syntax.

    Regardless, the novel was entertaining enough despite its flaws and so I grabbed the third as well. This one drops the school life focus to play up the series’ overpowered protagonist and harem aspects to not so impressive effect. There’s only so many ways the central three characters can praise each others’ abilities and they’re all used here frequently and repeatedly. It’s all very self-congratulatory and, frankly, exhausting. If the upcoming fourth book doesn’t do something different in the character interaction department I’m probably going to have to drop it.

    Related posts:

    1. Blood Heir & So I’m a Spider, So What? #12 I actually read Ilona Andrews‘ Blood Heir way back at...
    2. The City of Brass & THE WORLD’S FINEST Assassin #5 S. A. Chakraborty‘s first Daevabad novel, The City of Brass,...
    3. EASYGOING TERRITORY DEFENSE #2 & As a Reincarnated Aristocrat #4 The second Okiraku Ryoushu no Tanoshii Ryouchi Bouei novel continues...
    4. Banished from the HERO’S PARTY #5 & THE WORLD’S FINEST Assassin #4 The 5th Shin no Nakama ja Nai to Yuusha no...
    5. The Mythical Hero’s Otherworld Chronicles & Adelheid #1-2 The Shinwa Densetsu no Eiyuu no Isekaitan series apparently spans...

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    This entry was posted in Book Related and tagged Ansatsu Kizoku Fantasy Romance Rui Tsukiyo Young Adult Novel
  • The Irregular at Magic High School #12-16

    Posted on July 11, 2021 9:34 am by Offkorn Comment

    The transition from the end of Raihousha-hen to Book 12 of the source material is unfortunately not particularly seamless.

    There’s some notable overlap between events, namely Minami’s and the Saegusa and Yotsuba twins’ introductions. The skyscraper opening ceremony there meanwhile is actually a near-total alteration of a welcome-home party in the book. An understandable change, seeing as how the original version introduced a bunch of new characters (some of whom are never seen again) and they probably wanted to end the series with a bang.

    What really sticks out though is the density of the text, which shouldn’t have been a surprise considering how wordy the Anime series is. It takes some time to get used to the conversational style, which frequently skips between similarly named characters and occasionally has a rather odd syntax. I wonder if they used multiple editors? When/if you acclimate yourself to the oddities though the general experience is not unlike watching the show, featuring a similar mix of dialog, action, and comedy.

    At least for the 12th through 15th books.

    The 16th however, which (perhaps not incidentally) is the shortest of this bunch, throws a couple pretty severe curve balls which seem completely out of character. Frankly, the way the page count had been steadily decreasing since the 12th book already had me on edge… but then to go and devote what little space they had to such highly questionable developments on top of that has me feeling that there’s no need to continue following the franchise.

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    2. Blood Heir & So I’m a Spider, So What? #12 I actually read Ilona Andrews‘ Blood Heir way back at...
    3. Relatively Recent Books Been procrastinating with adding these because it’s a pain. May...
    4. 86: Under Pressure & Death, Be Not Proud The fourth 86 novel continues from where the Anime adaptation...
    5. Middlegame, Siren’s Song, & Honors Seanan McGuire‘s Middlegame is a standalone story with no relation...

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    This entry was posted in Book Related and tagged Mahouka Romance School Life Science Fiction Tsutomu Satou Urban Fantasy Young Adult Novel
  • Log Horizon: Entaku Houkai & Hori san to Miyamura kun: Horimiya

    Posted on April 13, 2021 8:26 am by Offkorn Comment

    Log Horizon‘s third season doesn’t waste any time with recaps, so it’d be best if you re-watched the earlier episodes before jumping in. Doing so will also prepare you for it’s somewhat unconventional mix of actionless dialog-heavy arcs and action-focused arcs.

    Back when I first saw the series the only MMO I had played was City of Villains, but now after getting involved with FFXIV I can actually appreciate the extensive mechanic-related references. So experience with the subject matter will definitely influence your enjoyment level… but at the end of the day the choice of whether or not to watch it comes down to how much tolerance you have for extraneous exposition.

    Horimiya meanwhile is an alternate version of an OVA series which fully adapts their shared source material in record time. Which isn’t a complement. This is the kind of story that wants to breath, and here it’s never given the chance.

    Oh the comedy is certainly good and it’s nice to have a cast of characters who actually talk to each other about their problems rather than let misunderstandings fester, but everything develops at such a breakneck pace it strains credulity. It crams over a year of its characters lives and relationship developments into a mere 13 episodes. Just because the show tells you (indirectly) that a month has passed in a second doesn’t make accepting it any easier.

    Continue reading → Post ID 9445

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    This entry was posted in 2021 - Winter Anime Related and tagged Action Comedy Comic Adaptation Dramatic Support Fantasy Finished Funimation Incomplete Source Novel Adaptation Romance School Life Series Televised
  • Null Peta & Space Battleship YAMATO – STAR BLAZERS 2202: Ai no Senshi-tachi

    Posted on February 9, 2021 12:22 am by Offkorn 1 Comment

    A short, 5-min episode series that presents itself as a comedy should probably avoid trying to instill any kind of moral values. Null Peta disagrees. Here is a show that attempts to mine comedy from not only having to put up with a overbearing, naggy older sister… but actively wanting to subsume your life to her desires even if it kills you. Especially if it kills you. It’s infuriating on every level, particularly when it tries for drama/pathos near the end.

    As a follow-up to Yamato 2199, Ai no Senshi-tachi is a pretty much complete disappointment. It has all the negatives of a Yamato work (idiotic character behavior, random plot developments, space mysticism, toxic nationalism/hero worship, etc.) without any of the surprisingly engaging combat encounters 2199 pulled off. All of the battles here seem to both start and end in arbitrary manners with inconsistent power levels and destructive potential. They come across like empty setpieces.

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    This entry was posted in 2017 - Autumn 2017 - Spring 2017 - Winter 2018 - Autumn 2018 - Spring 2018 - Winter 2019 - Autumn 2019 - Winter Anime Related and tagged Action Comedy Crunchyroll Drama Finished Funimation Mixed Media Project Movie Novel Adaptation Partial Adaptation Romance Science Fiction Series Short Anime Televised
  • Rikei ga Koi ni Ochita no de Shoumei Shitemita. & BRAND NEW ANIMAL: BNA

    Posted on February 7, 2021 4:09 pm by Offkorn 1 Comment

    RikeKoi is a romantic comedy featuring allegedly university-aged characters, most of whom have relationship issues of one form or another. There isn’t any beating around the bush with the central relationship though, as they’re basically a settled couple from the very first episode and simply refuse to call a spade a spade for the rest. The main flaw, other than perhaps certain characters’ personalities, is the periodic science terminology interludes.

    A completely different sort of comedy, BNA is a multi-genre series focused on social justice and personal identity issues which has pretty much all the hallmarks of the better Studio Trigger series while avoiding most of their worst impulses; there’s no gratuitous ecchi content for instance. There is however still a bit of an issue regarding excessive idealism and seemingly random plot developments though.

    Continue reading → Post ID 9445

    No related posts.


    This entry was posted in 2020 - Spring 2020 - Winter Anime Related and tagged Action Anime Original Comedy Comic Adaptation Crunchyroll Drama Educational Finished Incomplete Source Netflix Romance School Life Series Televised Urban Fantasy
  • Dragon’s Dogma & KIMI to BOKU no Saigo no Senjou, Aruiwa Sekai ga Hajimaru SEISEN

    Posted on January 22, 2021 10:10 am by Offkorn Comment

    I’m not really sure what the point of making a new series based on an action-RPG from nearly a decade ago was. If the MMO version were still active or they were in the process of hyping a sequel I could understand… but there just doesn’t seem to be any reason for it to exist.

    Is it worth watching? Not really, no. Though I will grant that the production team did seem to put some effort into re-working the story to fit a miniseries mold.

    The show with the long title on the other hand has an obvious reason for existing: It’s an adaptation of an ongoing light novel series. And is it worth watching? Again, not really. Although most of the action scenes are surprisingly decent; it’s rushed, the comedic elements feel out of place, and both the story and character behavior are as generic as can be.

    Skip them both unless you’re incredibly bored. Maybe even then.

    Continue reading → Post ID 9445

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    This entry was posted in 2020 - Autumn 2020 - Summer Anime Related and tagged Action Anime Original Comic Relief Dragon's Dogma Drama Ecchi Fantasy Finished Funimation Incomplete Source LN Adaptation Netflix OVA Romance Series Televised
  • Rifle is Beautiful & Yahari Ore no Seishun Lovecome wa Machigatteiru.: Kan

    Posted on November 11, 2020 12:12 pm by Offkorn 1 Comment

    Rifle is Beautiful starts out as a pretty standard schoolgirl club comedy. Then about a third of the way through it starts to introduce serious sports elements, turning into a full-blown sports series in the concluding third… resulting in a particularly uneven showing despite the comedy style remaining intact throughout. While I have to give it credit for not artificially dragging things out as those series tend to do (usually with innumerable training episodes), the sport it decided to focus on (beam rifle target shooting, a variation on air rifle shooting) being actively sedentary does not work in its favor.

    OreGairu‘s final season picks up immediately from where the previous one left off. So it would be a good idea to (re)watch the 13th episode of that before starting this. The character interactions are the highlight as always, but there’s a bit of an awkwardness overlord issue and the primary source of drama comes across as a hamfisted plot device. It is, however, nowhere near as bad as what the Saekano movie pulled; only ending up a minor speed bump in an otherwise enjoyable series conclusion.

    No related posts.


    This entry was posted in 2019 - Autumn 2020 - Summer Anime Related and tagged Comedy Comic Adaptation Dramatic Support Finished LN Adaptation OreGairu Partial Adaptation Romance School Life Series Sports Televised
  • Otome Game no Hametsu Flag shika nai Akuyaku Reijou ni Tensei shite shimatta… & Lapis Re:LiGHTs

    Posted on November 3, 2020 2:28 am by Offkorn 1 Comment

    The show with the excessively long title (which can be more sensibly shorted to HameFura if you’re so inclined) is a slightly unconventional isekai variant in which the protagonist doesn’t actually have any notable abilities. Her lack of notable skill is, in fact, apparently the very reason all the other characters like her so much (well, that and the way she unconsciously steals all the character-specific romance events for herself). This presents a problem; there’s not much of a reason to root for someone who continually fails into success after all.

    A slightly more conventional ‘magical academy’ series, Lapis Re:Lights starts out featuring some pretty generic character behavior and event developments. Unilaterally forcing Tiara into Rosetta’s group at the beginning was completely unnecessary and leaves a bad taste, while the eventual idol reveal in the second episode (which almost completely invalidates the setting’s premise) is just soul-crushingly banal. I couldn’t bring myself to go any further.

    Then there’s also Honzuki no Gekokujou, another reincarnation-based fantasy isekai with an unpowered protagonist, which I long suspected wouldn’t appeal to me based on said protagonist being a child. A suspicion that turned out to be completely accurate.

    Continue reading → Post ID 9445

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    This entry was posted in 2020 - Spring 2020 - Summer Anime Related and tagged Comedy Dramatic Support Dropped Fantasy Finished Harem Idol Incomplete Source LN Adaptation Mixed Media Project Music Romance School Life Series Televised
  • Sundry Anime Movies

    Posted on October 11, 2020 3:19 am by Offkorn 1 Comment
      Gekijouban: FAIRY TAIL – DRAGON CRY
      The improved animation (compared to the parent series) is offset by the worse character artwork and massive pacing hit watching it where it supposedly takes place (post-episode 285) causes. Content-wise it’s effectively a generic battle shounen filler movie.
      Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata Fine
      The franchise‘s conclusion begins by almost entirely sidelining the harem aspects to focus on Megumi and how her comments regarding the game mirror her real-life relationship with Aki… only to have the entire thing derailed by a completely unrelated dramatic development about a third of the way through which inexplicably reintroduces the harem elements. They had a natural ending right there only to go and water down and delay it via contrived drama. Why?
      Goblin Slayer -Goblin’s crowN-
      It starts out with a 25-minute recap of the first season (focusing on the violence and rape; which is an odd choice considering the initial reaction to that season was mostly split between ‘the first episode is nothing like the rest of the series’ and ‘the series is nothing but rape’). Such baffling production decisions. As for the new content, the quality level ends up slightly worse the prequel… assuming you go in expecting a double-length TV episode rather than a movie. If you go in actually expecting a movie it will probably end up mostly disappointing.
      HUMAN LOST
      While inspired by No Longer Human and including some of its major plot points, this movie changes far too much to be considered an adaptation (so best to just forget about that if you haven’t already). It’s an action-drama now and a gorgeous work of desolation and futility… though I feel the giant monster and final fight in the ‘void’ were overkill.
      BURN ✠HE WITCH
      Taking place in the same universe as Bleach, being set in a completely different location (one with more of a Harry Potter vibe to it), this movie focuses entirely on the franchise’s magic system rather than item-based or physical combat. It starts off well enough with crisp artwork, fluid combat animation, and mostly decent characters. The problem is with one particular character: Balgo. He’s awful and has no reason to exist beyond being awful and causing some of the most contrived plot developments I’ve recently had the misfortune of being exposed to.
      Sora no Aosa o Shiru Hito yo
      While the movie works decently enough as a music-themed relationship drama for about 3/4ths of its runtime (leavened by ample comic relief), the vaguely Anohana-like supernatural elements don’t really add anything. It doesn’t have much of an ending either, with events being resolved in the most arbitrary manner possible and an epilogue taking the form of still images embedded in the credit roll.

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    This entry was posted in 2017 - Spring 2019 - Autumn 2020 - Autumn 2020 - Winter Anime Related and tagged Action Anime Original Battle Shounen Comedy Comic Adaptation Comic Relief Crunchyroll Drama Fairy Tail Fantasy Funimation Goblin Slayer Harem Incomplete Source LN Adaptation Movie Music Romance Saekano Science Fiction Urban Fantasy
  • The Way of Kings & Words of Radiance

    Posted on October 3, 2020 10:32 am by Offkorn Comment

    The first novel in Brandon Sanderson‘s Stormlight Archive series reminds me of R. Scott Bakker’s Aspect-Emperor series. Mostly in structure and length, but also slightly in content (it’s nowhere near as dark/gritty or philosophy-laden though… which could go either way depending on your personal tastes).

    It starts out pretty boring while laying the groundwork, picks up markedly by the halfway point, and becomes downright exciting toward the end. Aside from the questionable beginning, the only real issue I had with it were Kaladin and Shallan both acting pretty stupid much of the time. With a book the size of this one you wouldn’t think a mere two characters’ actions could drag it down, but they both end up central to the story it wants to tell. The intermittent flashbacks to Kaladin’s past aren’t particularly interesting either.

    The second novel, Words of Radiance, pretty much entirely redeems Shallan… but Kaladin relapses for a while. I’m also still not fond of the flashback segments (this time focusing on Shallan) and the random character resurrection at the end seems, well, random and ill thought out. That said, overall it’s notably more consistent than the prequel and I’m definitely invested in seeing how the story develops from here.

    Related posts:

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    This entry was posted in Book Related and tagged Brandon Sanderson Cosmere Fantasy Romance Stormlight Archive

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